SAN FRANCISCO -- The Barry Bonds show will take a break on Wednesday in an early afternoon game at SBC Park as the Giants try to sweep a three-game series against the first-place Padres and further close the gap in the National League West.

"Tomorrow is out," Bonds told reporters after the Giants defeated San Diego, 5-4, to pull within five games of the division lead with 18 left to play, five of them against the Padres. "I'm not playing tomorrow."

He might be available to pinch-hit, but that call will be made by manager Felipe Alou, Bonds said.

The manager noted that giving Bonds a full day of rest on Wednesday would make it almost two full days before the Dodgers come into town for another big four-game series starting on Thursday night, when the left-fielder will undoubtedly be back in the lineup in his accustomed cleanup spot.

"I'd say the chances of Barry playing [on Wednesday] are pretty slim," Alou said. "We might pinch-hit him, but we'll have to see how he feels."

Bonds went 1-for-2 on Tuesday night with a fifth-inning single, two walks and a strikeout, following his 1-for-4 inaugural performance on Monday night after months of rehab on his thrice-surgically repaired right knee. On the first-inning whiff, coming on a full count called third strike against Padres right-handed starter Brian Lawrence, the pitch might have been a tad off the outside of the plate.

"Barry came back to the dugout and said it was three or four inches outside," Alou said.

But no matter, Bonds was satisfied with his first two games.

"I feel pretty good for not swinging a baseball bat in almost a year, not having any Spring Training and going to a college and hitting in a cage for a week," he said. "Like I've been saying, if I give you a little, it's a lot at this stage."

That Bonds is having an impact on the team is indisputable. He faded back to the left-center-field fence with Eric Young on first base in the opening inning to snag Mark Loretta's long drive. His single with Pedro Feliz on first in the fifth led to the go-ahead run in a game that was tied at 3 at the time. Feliz motored to third on the single and then scored on Ray Durham's sacrifice fly.

As opposed to the stretch leading up to Bonds' return, when the Giants lost five out of six, including three of four at home this past weekend to the Cubs, the team has looked a lot more energetic, Alou said, adding that Bonds has taken the team up another notch. And this with veterans Moises Alou (strained groin) and J.T. Snow (pulled hamstring) on the shelf.

"We didn't know we were waiting for him so badly, but we know now," Alou said.

Bonds came back with a splash in a 4-3 Giants win on Monday night after missing the first 142 games of the season.

In his first at-bat to lead off the second inning, Bonds doubled near the top of the left-center-field wall on the 11th pitch from Padres right-hander Adam Eaton and trotted home a moment later on Durham's single.

The drive struck near the same spot where Bonds hit the 700th homer of his career against these same Padres last Sept. 17. It was a storybook start to an unlikely return this season for Bonds, who at 703 lifetime homers is third on the all-time list, 11 behind Ruth's 714 and 52 away from Aaron's 755.

Bonds hadn't played since Oct. 3, the final day of the 2004 season in Los Angeles. He hit his last home run this past Sept. 26, during the final home game off the Dodgers' Jeff Weaver.

"That at-bat was amazing," said manager Bruce Bochy, who has watched Bonds hit many of the 80 homers he has struck against the Padres. "For him to do that after missing that much time ... He's a freak."

Still, Bonds proved to be human. Standing in the outfield during another chilly evening, Bonds rubbed his knee and revealed that there was some swelling and soreness in it before he even took the field.

"But I'm going to play through it," he said.

Bonds had surgery to repair meniscus in the knee on Jan. 31 and March 12 and on May 2 underwent another procedure to eradicate a serious bacterial infection that set him back for months.

"It was cold outside," Bonds said. "It was getting stiff. I was just trying to keep it loose, keep it warm. Get the circulation in there going."

The circulation, the adrenaline and the energy is all going with Bonds back on the field of play.